


Fake It til You Make Out

by xore



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, There's some cursing JSYK, i know fake relationships are overdone SORRY
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-26 09:32:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7569046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xore/pseuds/xore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“My parents don’t believe I’m gay.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, what?” Ruby’s head snapped up from her math notes as she heard her best friend say that, knowing that she had planned on coming out to her parents the previous night. She had helped Sapphire plan what she was going to bake for supper so they were happily full, how much wine she’d give them so they were happy tipsy and not angry drunk, and had even acted as her parents multiple times as the barely taller girl had come out over and over again. They’d had everything planned down to even the time when she would stand up and announce her sexuality, and Ruby had been confident that she had helped her friend be able to get a good reaction from them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i know this AU is overdone but i had an idea and I wanted to go with it! also i'm sorry it's so short.

“My parents don’t believe I’m gay.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Ruby’s head snapped up from her math notes as she heard her best friend say that, knowing that she had planned on coming out to her parents the previous night. She had helped Sapphire plan what she was going to bake for supper so they were happily full, how much wine she’d give them so they were happy tipsy and not angry drunk, and had even acted as her parents multiple times as the barely taller girl had come out over and over again. They’d had everything planned down to even the time when she would stand up and announce her sexuality, and Ruby had been confident that she had helped her friend be able to get a good reaction from them.

“I told them! I gave them wine, I made both of their favorite kinds of pastas-” Ruby had personally found that a bit overboard, but had agreed that it was a good idea just in case “-and said exactly what I told you!” Sapphire sighed, sitting next to her friend and leaning her head on the other girl’s shoulder. The two had been friends for ages, so physical affection was certainly nothing new. “They… they didn’t believe me. They laughed.” 

Ruby’s experience with coming out had gone just fine, as she had two sisters who had both already come out as pansexual and gay. It had only been a matter of time before she followed suit as well. The only surprising thing was the fact that she’d come out after her younger sister had. So, given how kindly her mother had taken her own coming out, she wasn’t exactly sure what to say to her friend. “I’m… wow, Sapphire. I’m sorry.” 

“I just don’t understand.” She sighed again as Ruby wrapped an arm around her, the other hand still balancing notes on her lap. The touch was almost painful, as Ruby’d had an obvious crush on the other girl for years now. The blonde was oblivious though, and her anxiety prevented her from saying anything in fear of ruining this decade long friendship. “I knew that they wouldn’t take it well, that’s why we prepared that entire part about how God’s love extends even to gay people. I just don’t understand why they would think I’d come out to them as a joke. They laughed, Ruby.”

Ruby shook her head a little, almost wanting to laugh at this herself. She’d heard of bad reactions (hell, the two had even cleared it with Ruby’s mother that Sapphire could stay with them if her home situation got to be too bad over her coming out), but this seemed somehow more painful. “Denial?” She finally asked, that being the only idea that made sense to her. “They probably just don’t want to believe that their only kid is gay.”

“Well I’m not sure how I’m supposed to convince them. If me saying it isn’t enough for them, what is?”

Biting her tongue, Ruby slowly shut her notes. She slipped the notebook into her bag, figuring she would have plenty of time at lunch to study instead of now. Pearl could probably help her, after the mandatory scolding. This idea she had (and this situation in general) was far more important than some stupid math test in a class she was already aceing. “Just… bring someone home,” she suggested, her voice far more hushed than usual. She wanted Sapphire to ask her to do it, and she knew the other girl responded well to quiet talking and soft touches. Just as she remembered that second part, she slowly started to rub her arm. “How can they deny your sexuality if you’re hugging and kissing a girl in front of their eyes.” Not only that, but their reaction would have to be better than it would be without someone there. There’s no way her parents (the strictly professional people they were) would yell at her with someone else there. It wouldn’t protect Sapphire forever, but it would hopefully be enough for them to understand that her sexuality wasn’t a choice. Or, at least, to get used to the fact that she wouldn’t be marrying a man.

There were hundreds of better ways to go about this, Ruby was sure. But what could be better than hopefully getting rid of this childish crush by being allowed to kiss her friend for an afternoon? Already, she was certain that if Sapphire asked her to be her fake partner, she’d be able to get over this dumb crush once and for all by getting all of her affection out at once. She almost smiled at the idea before realizing that Sapphire would likely notice. While only one of her eyes fully worked, she seemed to be able to see everything going on around her.

“That’s… not a terrible idea.” The blonde sat up, doing so slowly so Ruby wouldn’t withdraw her arm. “You should do it! They’ve met you before, they know we’ve been friends forever, and that you’re gay… It would just make sense. If you don’t mind.” She added the last part before she got too ahead of herself, but Ruby didn’t seem to mind at all. She squeezed Sapphire’s arm lightly before nodding. 

“I’d be honored, dear.” That made both of them laugh, and Ruby took it another step further by taking Sapphire’s hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it. She didn’t seem to mind though, even seemingly delighted by the touch of the other girl’s lips. 

“You should come home with me after school today, please. I know that by now they’re taking this in and may get upset with me if I’m not alone…” Ruby nodded in agreement. 

“Deal.”

“One more thing.” Ruby tilted her head and Sapphire scrunched her nose up for a moment, thinking this next part fully through. “We do tend to be rather affectionate together and all, but except for Pearl’s sleepover in 7th grade when Amethyst made us play Spin the Bottle, I don’t think we’ve really ever kissed.” Ruby almost smiled at that memory. That had been a great night. “It would be rather awkward we don’t seem in synch when with my parents. Could we go through the day acting like we’re dating? Just as practice?” It was a thinly veiled disguise of kissing the other and Sapphire knew it. But she was not going to let one second of this opportunity go to waste, no matter how poorly it had started. 

It seemed like God was somehow thanking Ruby for actually caring enough to study for her math test, and she made a mental note to start studying more often. Not only did Sapphire want to date her (for an entire day), she’d finally be able to get rid of this pesky crush. So Ruby quickly nodded in agreement before leaning over and pressing a chaste kiss to Sapphire’s lips. She could feel her face burning in embarrassment, but didn’t pull away until only a second after she felt the other girl return the affection. Both of them refused to meet eye contact afterwards, which allowed Ruby to keep her giddy smile. 

Sapphire looked like she was about to say something, but the five minute bell rang. Everyone outside with them started to filter in, knowing that they weren’t allowed to stay out any longer. “Let’s get to class,” Sapphire suggested instead of saying what she wanted to, and stood up from the bench next to Ruby, and almost shyly offered her hand. Ruby grabbed it quickly, but had to let go again so she could pull her backpack over her shoulders. She took Sapphire’s hand again and led the other girl inside, only letting go when they had to go to separate classrooms. 

“See you in English?”

“See you then,” Sapphire agreed, turning the opposite way to get to her class. Ruby stared after her for a moment, only looking away as the other girl turned a corner. Maybe this would help her come out to her parents better, but Ruby was already starting to doubt the idea that she’d be able to get over her crush by dating her. 

Shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So should i put implied pearlmethyst in the tags for this fic now? 
> 
> Sorry it's so short! A more exciting chapter to follow.

English had come and gone, with lunch and sociology following closely after. The two had skipped PE to be with one another, to practice how they’d kiss and touch. Now Ruby was sure to get it from Pearl. Not only had she almost entirely ignored studying for this test in favor of helping Sapphire, but she’d also left Pearl to run the mile alone. 

Lunch came immediately after PE, and while Ruby had gotten the expected scolding from Pearl, it had been quickly killed off by a barrage of questions about when she and Sapphire had gotten together as said girl sat at their table and planted a kiss on Ruby’s cheek. That seemed to pique Amethyst’s attention, and soon both Amethyst and Pearl claimed to have expected it, and then even got into a minor argument over who’d expected it the longest. Had Sapphire not interrupted their fighting by explaining the situation, Ruby probably would have made an offhand comment about how she expected the two of them to get together. That was only a matter of time, and Sapphire agreed as they walked out of sociology hand in hand. 

“Don’t you find it odd that our closest two friends agreed that we were bound to get together?” Sapphire asked as she set her backpack in the backseat of her small blue car. She only found herself saying that to try and throw Ruby off the path of having any clue the blonde liked her as more than a friend. They’d both been so affectionate today, more than usual, and Sapphire was rather worried that the other girl had started to catch on to her crush. A dumb thought, maybe, but she would rather be safe than sorry when it came to the possibility of losing her best friend.

Ruby got into the passenger seat after following suit, glad she didn’t have to take the bus today. She seemed to be the only one within her friend group who had to ride a bus that was loud as all hell. She perked her head up at the question, barely withholding a wince at the fact that Sapphire had even thought to ask. She wanted to say no, to say that she thought the exact same thing as those two. They were right, she and Sapphire were meant to be. Ruby couldn’t make herself say that though, as her mind had already started racing with ideas of how upset Sapphire would be. How she’d be accused of only pretending to be the other girl’s friend this whole time in hopes of dating her. Okay, she knew the second idea was just a product of her anxiety. Sapphire wouldn’t even think a thing like that, let alone be cruel enough to spit those words towards Ruby. Still, her mind thought in worst case scenarios any time anything ever happened. She realized she’d been sitting still, silent, as Sapphire started the car and waited for her answer. So she laughed, a little too loudly. “Totally,” she said, after her small fit of laughter. Wow. Even if Sapphire did have any remote chance of wanting to be with her, she had just guaranteed that there was definitely none now.

The other girl shook her head a little, letting the car drift forward out of the parking spot. She allowed someone to go ahead of her before turning. “I didn’t think that us dating was funny,” she murmured, and Ruby felt her eyes go wide. Shit, she’d messed up. Did Sapphire look… disappointed? She stopped before she let her thoughts get too hopeful. It was probably only because the other wanted them to be convincing for her parents, that was all.

“It’s not! It’s not, I promise. I just… I really see you as a friend.” It was a lie, every word that came out of her mouth after ‘promise’. She was basically signing a contract saying ‘let me never have a chance with Sapphire’. So she kept her mouth shut after that as the other girl decided to ignore the subject they were on and instead started to explain how her parents would arrive home an hour or so after they did. Enough time to get a snack, talk about how to approach this, and start on any homework either of them had. 

Ruby was only half listening, the other half of her mind occupied with the dreadful thought that their day of dating was almost over. After this, they’d go back to normal and Sapphire would tell her parents in a few weeks (to make it seem like they hadn’t just been dating for a day) that they’d broken up. She had to make this moment last. 

So, hesitantly, Ruby reached a hand over and rested it on Sapphire’s thigh. The other girl was wearing leggings for once instead of a skirt, making it less weird when she started to gently rub her thumb against her leg. Part of her brain screamed that it was still weird, that she needed to stop now. Sapphire was her friend, and her best one at that. She couldn’t ruin their friendship by getting more into this acting than she needed to. Still, this sort of physical affection wasn’t abnormal at all. She was just taking it a bit… further than usual.

Sapphire certainly didn’t seem to mind though, and even seemed to enjoy it. Ruby almost verbally sighed in relief before stopping herself, remembering where she was. In close proximity with her crush. Right.

The drive back to Sapphire’s house only took about ten minutes, but it felt even shorter to Ruby. Maybe it was due to the fact that she was content just to sit and look out the window for once, when her ADHD would usually drive her nuts with that sort of boring activity. Maybe it was just the calming presence of the girl next to her, whom she didn’t take her hand off of for the entire ride (thank you, God, she’d find herself thinking). Whatever it was, she was soon snapped out of her trance by Sapphire’s voice.

“Oh no.”

“Oh no, what?” Ruby glanced out the front windshield instead of her window, and quickly realized what Sapphire was referring to. “Oh no.” In the driveway sat the blonde’s parents’ car, which she’d parked behind. They weren’t supposed to be home for a while, Ruby remembered her saying. Enough time for them to get their acts together and make this ‘relationship’ seem even more natural than it had already become. Now she could practically feel the act falling apart, the day they’d spent skipping PE to practice knowing one another wasted… 

“It probably hit them, huh? Ruby, they- they realized that I wasn’t joking.” Ruby’s eyes were torn off of the car in favor of her fake girlfriend, and she practically cringed as she noticed Sapphire’s hand covering her mouth. She did that to hide when she was laughing or crying, and Ruby somehow deeply suspected that it couldn’t possibly be the first one. 

“Hey, hey…” Usually Sapphire was the one to calm her down, and Ruby almost wanted to laugh at this sudden shift in their dynamic. She couldn’t though, not with the other on the verge of tears. Gently, she took Sapphire’s hand away from her mouth, and held it with a firm grip in her own. “It’s okay. We practiced all day, remember? We skipped PE just so we could…” With her free hand, Ruby reached up to press the back of her hand against Sapphire’s cheek. The other girl smiled a little, and Ruby felt her stomach flutter. Wow, this crush refused to go away even with the day they’d spent together. “Sure, we lost an hour of practice. But we know each other, Sapph. Besides, I won’t let them touch you.” The last part came off as vaguely more aggressive than Ruby had meant it to, but the blonde hardly seemed to care. She nodded instead, pulling back from Ruby to compose herself.

“You’re right.” Ruby noticed, as Sapphire spoke, that she hadn’t pulled her hand out of the darker girl’s grip. She softly smiled at that and lightly squeezed her hand. “We’ve got this. We’ll go inside and show my parents that I’m super gay.” That earned a laugh from Ruby, who couldn’t help but squeeze her hand again. Just that small gesture felt amazing, and she found herself wanting to do that over and over again for the rest of her life.

If only that was even a possibility. “Let’s do that,” she replied with a confident grin.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey it's over! a short ride, but super fun to write! maybe i'll start a series based off this human AU!

They stood in front of Sapphire’s front door, holding hands. Even after Ruby had managed to calm her down, it took almost another ten minutes for the two to convince themselves to get out of the car. Finally it was Sapphire who gave the final push, mentioning that they would have to get out eventually (it was inevitable, she’d said) and the longer the took, the more concerned and upset her parents would get. And since Ruby had appointed herself the duty of the blonde’s acting bodyguard for these next few hours, she had to agree. The last thing she wanted was for the other girl to get into even more trouble, and especially not for the source of that trouble to come from her. 

Speaking of that, they’d managed to get in a quick conversation about how Ruby had to manage to stay calm despite what Sapphire’s parents may say about the two. She had a tendency to be rather confrontive when people said rude things to her or the people she liked, and she definitely liked Sapphire. They’d agreed that Sapphire’s safety at her home, however, was far more important than Ruby needing to learn to blow off some steam. 

Slowly, Sapphire raised the key that she held in the hand not clinging onto Ruby’s. While Ruby was definitely stronger than the other girl, her grip hurt. Still, she didn’t say anything. Sapphire probably needed to hold this tightly. This must be nerve-wracking for her. 

The door swung open and the blonde let her fake girlfriend inside first before following afterwards. She shut the door behind them, hesitating before locking it as well. Oh God, Ruby found herself thinking. This was it. She glanced to Sapphire, trying to see any hint of the other girl being nervous. There was nothing. Her face was absolutely stoic as she led Ruby from the entrance hallway to the living room. “Mom, Dad?” The house was large, and though Sapphire’s voice was rather meek, it seemed to bounce off of all the walls. “I know you uh, didn’t believe me yesterday when I came out. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” It was almost too cliché, the way she said that. It left Ruby to wonder how cliché she’d made her preplanned coming out speech sound.

They had written it to sound very cliché, hadn’t they?

The two walked further, and Ruby’s heart couldn’t have been beating harder if she was in a horror movie, walking down this very same hallway when it was pitch black and she was about to meet the big bad guy, the one who would kill one of them and very narrowly let the other escape. She pushed away the thought quickly. Not only had horror movies always terrified the shit out of her (more than normal people), but that thought also left her wondering how close that made up scenario was to what was happening in real life. Would Sapphire’s parents kill her for this? She wouldn’t be surprised if boarding school or a corrective camp were threatened, and that was close enough to death.

Upon entering the living room, both girls’ eyes fell upon two figures sitting on one of the couches. It looked like Sapphire’s mother had just been crying, as her skin was rather red and it looked like there was more mascara around her eyes rather than on her actual eyelashes. Sapphire’s father, however, was absolutely stone faced. Ruby suddenly realized where Sapphire had gotten her little to no temper from, and it was rather horrifying. “And this is?” He had a deep voice, which only served to make Ruby absolutely fear him even more.

“Dad, you know Ruby.” His face changed slightly as Sapphire said the other’s girl’s name, and Ruby wasn’t sure if it was in a good way or bad. “She’s, uh, she’s my girlfriend. We’re dating.” 

As reassuringly as she could possibly be, Ruby squeezed Sapphire’s hand. The blonde’s father just stared at her, and Sapphire swallowed before continuing to speak. “You two laughed yesterday as though my coming out as a lesbian-” Ruby could practically feel Sapphire’s mother cringe at the word “-was some sort of joke. It’s not, I promise. Ruby and I have been dating for a while and you have to accept that this is the way I am.” She seemed absolutely collected as she spoke, and Ruby couldn’t help but admire the other. She had been an absolute wreck while coming out to her mother, and that was when she knew the woman would accept her. There was no guarantee one way or the other with Sapphire’s parents.

A few moments of absolute silence passed before Sapphire’s mother nodded, glancing up at her daughter. At the sight of his wife’s face, Sapphire’s father seemed to immediately relax, the strict and frankly mean exterior slipping away from him. Despite the situation, Ruby almost wanted to smile at that. “Okay,” her mother choked out. “Ruby, would you like to stay for dinner? I can make that chicken you liked the last time you visited.”

 

“So, how’d it go after I left?” Ruby glanced up from her math notes that she was studying for her makeup test, seeing as she’d been so excited over her temporary girlfriend the previous day that she had completely fucked that test up. Sapphire sat next to her and hesitated before deciding not to put her head on Ruby’s shoulder. 

“Well, I’m still alive,” she finally got out. “They weren’t happy. My mother cried some more. She was so upset that I’ll never have children, but I told them that I can always adopt! I do want kids... My father told me that I should have let them know before bringing you home.” She sighed. “But then my mom mentioned how… happy I looked with you, and how she doesn’t want to change that.” A small smile appeared over her lips, and Ruby found herself staring at them to save that sight. “They’re both still trying to understand, but… but that’s the thing. They’re trying.”

Those last two words made Ruby smile as well, and she slipped away her math notes. She could study later. And get more scolding from Pearl for not studying for her (very generously given) makeup test. Still, this was too important to pass up on. She let a hand fall behind Sapphire, rubbing her back with a smile of her own. “That’s great! Sure, it might take a while, but hell, you’re patient!” That earned a small snort from the girl beside her, egging Ruby to keep talking. “Before you know it, your dad will be walking you down the aisle to your future wife.” She grinned triumphantly, glad that the main task of this plan had gone well. Her personal task, to get over this crush she had on her best friend, had failed so miserably that said crush had actually gotten worse. But it wasn’t her fault they’d spent all day practicing, and that Sapphire’s lips were too soft to be real. 

She tore her eyes away from the other’s lips as they started moving again, and she focused more on Sapphire’s nose instead. That was the safest part of her face without seeming disrespectful and looking down. “Thank you, Ruby,” was all she said before she pulled the other girl into a tight hug. Ruby stopped rubbing her back to hug her instead, relieved she’d come up with something that had likely gotten Sapphire out of the torture of having homophobic parents. 

The blonde pulled away from the hug hesitantly a few moments later, biting her lip. “There’s… another thing.” Ruby glanced up at her, and she sighed. “They… really liked you. I mean, a lot. They were just so happy that I’m - I was dating someone who I’ve been friends with for so long, so they want you to come for dinner this Saturday.” Ruby’s eyes widened, both out of excitement and from being nervous. Sure, she would be more than happy to keep this fake dating facade up, but for how long before Sapphire caught onto her not acting like she enjoyed it? The other girl could practically read people like a book, so well that it was an absolute Godsend that her crush hadn’t been discovered yet.

“Oh,” was all she found herself saying for a few moments before she realized that response probably wasn’t the very best. “I mean, I’d be more than happy to. We just have to go on a few more dates in front of your parents before we pull a fake fallout, right?” She smiled, trying to keep the air light.

Sapphire didn’t laugh. “Well, yes, that’s all we have to do.” She swallowed, looking like she wanted to go on.

So Ruby did for her. “...But?” 

“But, I want more than that.” Ruby barely stopped herself from sharply inhaling. Okay, she probably just meant more dates to seem realistic, right? Sapphire was smart, she knew her parents wouldn’t believe they were dating if she only came over when they wanted to see her. Ruby nodded. 

“Alright, I can do that. How about tomorrow? It’s a Thursday, so that gives your parents plenty of time to recover before they have to see me again.” 

Sapphire tilted her head, confused. “Why in the world would my parents be there?”

Ruby frowned. “Well, I thought you wanted to make them see me more to make it more realistic.” She stopped, almost groaning as her eyes widened in realization. No, she wanted to scream at herself. That’s your anxiety, asshole!

“Oh!” Sapphire tried hard not to look disappointed, figuring that’s what Ruby wanted. She was wrong after all, those kisses yesterday that had felt like so much were fake. Of course. Why should she assume more. “Right, I forgot, that slipped my mind. Yes, yes, tomorrow works.” 

Ruby shook her head no, having already caught on. She was two seconds from grinning, but she managed to keep a fairly serious demeanor as she leaned closer to Sapphire. “That’s not what you meant.” She let a tiny smile slip through, hardly able to resist that. Sapphire glanced up at her, unable to help a little smile of her own.

“No.” 

Ruby grinned, having never thought she’d be so happy to hear that word in her life. When she imagined asking Sapphire out, it would usually happen with less “no’s” and more “yeses”, but she was certainly not opposed to this. It wasn’t her fantasy, after all, and she wasn’t nearly as smooth as she pretended to be in the middle of a boring class. 

“No?” She teased, leaning even closer to the other girl. That just made Sapphire burst into laughter, pushing Ruby away a little.

“Stop it! You know what I mean.” Ruby smiled, relieved she hadn’t been laughing at her. Her hand left Sapphire’s back to instead grab the other girl’s hand, lightly squeezing. 

“I think I do.” She reveled in the smile that left on the blonde’s face, and squeezed her hand softly before leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. This time, Sapphire didn’t hesitate to kiss back, and Ruby didn’t pull away the moment she did. They sat there a moment, holding hands and enjoying the kiss before the five-minute bell rang. 

Sapphire was the first to pull away a few moments later, as Ruby was far too stubborn to let some bells dictate how she treat her longtime crush. “Let’s get to class.” She stood, still holding Ruby’s hand. Ruby didn’t dare take her hand back just to put her backpack on, and instead slung it over one shoulder. 

“Alright.”


End file.
